If
by hepaxedemos
Summary: A hostage situation tests some of the team to their limits. Inspired by the Kipling poem "If". Revolves around Don, Colby and Charlie not slash
1. Chapter 1

_A/N Like I said, this was inspired by the Kipling poem "If". It isn't going to be a particularly long story and any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks for reading_

If….

Don look out across the plaza. _This had been a complete waste of_ _time_ he fumed to himself. A call had come in that a suspect they were hunting had been seen in the square but after a good hour of searching, the team had come up empty handed. In dribs and drabs his people headed back to the SUV's parked at the entrance. Nikki and Liz were already standing by one of the vehicles drinking down as much water as they could get their hands on. Don sympathised; the steel and glass of the surrounding buildings acted like a giant parabola, concentrating the sunlight onto the concrete below and slowly baking everything in its path. Add in the fact that the FBI were wearing their flak jackets and you had one very hot set of agents.

As he squinted against the sunlight he could make out the figures of Sinclair and Granger trudging back towards him, Sinclair was leading the way with his partner a few feet behind. Satisfied that everyone was heading back, Don turned and headed back to the cars to get himself a drink and slake his own thirst. He had only taken a couple of steps when a single, loud shot rang out echoing through the buildings; its resonating sound was drowned out almost immediately by people in the plaza behind him screaming and yelling. He ducked instinctively and headed for the nearest cover. Panicking civilians rushed past him, desperate to get out of danger; he let them go, better to let them run and clear the area naturally. Another shot rang out and the stragglers dived for cover.

Don peeked out from behind the low wall he had taken shelter behind. He quickly assessed the scene, thankful that so many people had managed to leave the area, allowing him a clearer view. He could see David crouching behind a trash can and spoke quietly into his radio to his second in command.

"Sinclair, what can you see?"

There was a pause as David slowly turned his head to look beyond the bin.

"I can't see much from here. Oh god, is that Colby?"

Don tried to follow Sinclair's line of sight, scanning the concrete and walls. At first he couldn't see what David was talking about. A figure was lying out in the open, his back to Eppes. Don could make out the yellow lettering 'FBI' emblazoned across the back. The figure suddenly rolled onto his back, his arm coming up to his head, his left knee rising up to balance him. It was unmistakably Colby. Don spoke in low urgent tones into his radio.

"Granger, what's your situation?" he released the speak button and watched with some relief as the younger agent reached for his own radio. The unmistakable Idaho accent sounded out through his earpiece.

"I'm OK, a bit bruised, the bullet hit my jacket but it didn't go through."

"Ok, stay down. We'll come to you."

"What's going on? Is everyone OK?"

"So far. Keep your head down. We'll provide a distraction. When we do, be ready to run for cover, David, that goes for you too."

Don turned, looking for Nikki and Liz. They had taken shelter behind one of the SUVs and were watching Eppes intently, waiting for his orders. Don quickly described his plan to get Granger and Sinclair out of the danger zone. Once it was clear that everyone understood what they needed to do, Don gave a sharp hand signal and Nikki reached inside the car and turned the sirens on. Immediately, the square filled with harsh electronic sound. Birds that had settled onto the concrete rose once again, wings flapping in panic.

"Now!" Don ordered into his radio. Granger and Sinclair both leapt to their feet at the same time. A shot rang out, sending shards of concrete into the air in front of Granger. The ex soldier carried on regardless but a second shot, also landing in front of his feet brought him up short. A third shot pushed the man off his feet and onto his back on the ground. Sinclair stopped and started to turn to rescue his stricken partner.

"Take cover!" Don yelled into his radio. However, it wasn't Don's barked order that brought Sinclair to a complete halt, a bullet thudded into the ground in front of him followed by another. Sinclair took one last look at where Granger was rolling around on the ground and then fled, taking up his position at Don's side, using the same small wall as cover.

"Damnit!" Don yelled as he reached for his radio.

"Granger, Colby, what's your condition?" he waited but there was no response. He looked out across the space dividing the men and saw that Granger was lying still on the concrete, one hand on his chest, the other on his fore head. He could see Colby's chest rising and falling rapidly.

"Granger, report!" he yelled into his radio

"I'm fine, I'm fine" Both Sinclair and Eppes sagged with relief at the sound of their colleagues voice. They could hear his ragged breathing filling the radio waves as he spoke.

"Stay down. Don't move" Don ordered. He turned to Sinclair.

"Whoever this is, they have deliberately cut us off from Colby. We need to find out where this wacko is holed up and end this before he stops taking shots at his jacket and aims for something more substantial." Suddenly, his phone rang. He reached down and unclipping it from his belt flipped it open.

"Eppes"

"Agent Eppes, listen very, very carefully if you want to get your agent back alive" Don slapped David on the arm to get his attention and then mouthed the words _it's him_. Sinclair moved in closer, trying to hear what the man holding his partner hostage was going to demand.

"I'm listening" Don replied in careful, measured tones.

"I want the agent in the open, what is his name?"

"Granger"

"I want Granger to get to his knees and put his hands on top of his head, if he doesn't I'll put a bullet through his skull."

" What? Why?" Don craned his neck round the wall to look at the surrounding buildings.

"Oh dear. Do you really think that I would put myself somewhere in plain sight? As to why. Cos I said so. Oh and I'll you and the other guy get to safety, but Granger stays where he is, how I said he is to be." The phone cut off suddenly.

"He can see us." Don said simply. He thought about what the shooter had asked. With a groan he pulled his radio towards him.

"Colby, listen, the sniper has been in contact. He wants you to get to your knees and put your hands on your head."

Sinclair listened to what his boss said in disbelief. "But that's a classic execution pose!"

Don turned to David. "If he had wanted to kill Colby he would have done it already. We don't know what he wants yet, so for now we play it his way." The men watched as Colby got slowly and painfully off the floor and to his knees, he didn't look their way, not wanting to give their position away. He raised his arms and put them on his head.

"What the hell is happening here?" Sinclair demanded.

"I don't know but I intend to find out." Don reached for his radio again. "Hang in there Colb," he said to the stranded agent. Across the plaza he could see Colby give a curt nod to acknowledge that he had heard his boss.

"Let's get back to the SUV, we need tactical down here asap to go through these buildings, flush our new friend out." And with that he turned and headed back to the cars, dragging a reluctant Sinclair with him.


	2. Contact

The team gathered round the SUV's and then started to pull back to an area of relative safety. Sinclair was highly agitated and defying Don's attempts to move him. Don ran his hand through his hair as he watched his second in command's distress, unsure what to do for the best. He knew that his main priority was to keep his colleague safe but he also knew how srong the bond that the two agents had developed was and that asking him to leave Granger stranded was almost asking the impossible. He stood directly in front of Sinclair, blocking his view of the plaza.

"Look, I know that you wanna stay here, but right now Colby needs you working on getting him out of there. He needs to know that you have his back."

David looked round Don in despair at his partner who was on his knees with his hands on his head. Colby had his head up and was scanning all the buildings that he could see without having to move his head too much. Both Don and David knew what he was doing, he was using the advantage his position gave him to try and spot the sniper. Don pulled at Sinclair's arm but the bigger man resisted him. The senior agent tightened his grip.

"He's not gonna be able to hold that position forever and I'm not sure what the nutcase holding the gun will do when he can't. Anyway, how exactly are you gonna help standing here?"

David looked at his boss, agony clear in his eyes.

"I can't just leave him" he snapped.

"You're not" Don said softly. "We work this out and we get him out, but whilst we are standing here, time is ticking." David squinted his eyes against the sunlight to look at his partner then he nodded reluctantly and headed over to the tactical vehicle that had been parked round the corner.

Don pulled himself inside the van and looked round at all the technicians sat at their stations.

"What have we got?" he asked, feeling Sinclair brush past him as he spoke.

"We have cameras set up at strategic points in the plaza – ones we could plant confident of not being seen anyway. To be honest, as we don't know where this guy is holed up at the moment, the coverage isn't great. We can see Agent Granger and a small area around him." The tech that spoke gestured at a screen that had Colby in the centre of it. Don was amazed at the clarity of the picture.

"Whoa, that's pretty good."

"Yeah, we upgraded the cameras and screen only a few weeks ago. This is the first live run we've had with them. In addition to the better picture resolution, these can do all the things the old ones did; we can zoom in and pan round." The technician pressed a few keys on his keyboard and then took hold of a small joystick and used it to move the camera around.

"Can you zoom in on him?" David asked, pointing over the tech's shoulder at Granger.

"Sure." The image on the screen suddenly grew larger and larger until they could quite clearly make out the agent's face. Sweat was tricking down Colby's face from under his baseball cap, running down the side of his face and onto his neck.

"It's very hot out there" the tech noted. He glanced at a set of numbers at the bottom the screen. "It's 36 degrees, not the hottest day on record which was just over 44 degrees but still pretty uncomfortable."

"Good job Colby decided to wear his cap today, otherwise his brains would be boiled by now." David said trying to sound light hearted but when Don glanced across at him he could see the worry and tension that was etched into his face. He knew how the man felt – helpless, sitting in a van whilst his partner and friend sweated it out, his life hanging in the balance on the whim of a madman. Don rubbed his eyes as he stood upright to address the people inside and outside the van.

"What's the status on the building sweeps?" he asked to the crowd in general.

"We've held off on the helicopter thermal imaging. There are too many people in the buildings and the area is too hot to get an accurate reading." One agent piped up. Nikki carried on "Agents are starting to work through the buildings , but there are a lot of rooms, roofs and hide holes out there. I did do one thing though that might help. I called Edgerton. He's in LA and is on his way." Don nodded his approval, he was not about to turn down the assistance of the bureau's best tracker and sniper.

"How long til he gets here?" Sinclair asked.

"He said - depending on the traffic - twenty minutes to half an hour."

"OK, let's move on. We need to hook my phone up for when this guy rings again. I'm assuming he will otherwise why leave Colby out there? Also, we need to start working his profile. Let's see if we can't get hold of some of the bullets he's put into the ground. Maybe that will give us something."

"Don." It was Sinclair that spoke, "Why can't we get a group from tactical with body armour and shields, create a defensive formation, move in, grab Colby and move out?"

It was Liz that answered. "Because he will see us coming before we can reach Colby. There is not enough cover out there to hide a whole group of people."

"OK, well what about one or two, they should be able to get enough cover to make it out there and back. I'll volunteer. I just need someone else to come with me."

"Look, I don't want any heroics from anyone. There isn't going to be any storming in just yet. If we do use that, it will be when we absolutely have to."

"And when will that be? When the bullet is entering Colby's skull or afterwards when we go to get the body!" David spat. Don span round to face him, he knew that David was hurting but it was time to take control and reign in Sinclair's more impulsive nature.

"We all want Colby out there, but I am not going to risk people's lives to do it. This has only just started let's see where it goes. Anything rash now could get Granger killed." He lowered his voice, "I need you to pull it together, start thinking straight otherwise I'm sending you back to the office and that's final." He glared at David until the junior agent looked away. Don hated playing alpha dog, especially with people he knew so well and relied on so much, but Sinclair was spiralling out of control and Don needed his team focussed. Anything else and they were dead weight, a hindrance.

Time passed slowly and for the next half hour Don kept himself busy co coordinating the search. He tried hard not to look at Colby's face on the screen, he didn't need the extra pressure of seeing how much the man was suffering to cloud his judgement.

He had just finished listening to Bravo team report that there was nothing to report from the building they had been searching when a familiar voice made him look up.

Charlie!" he exclaimed, "What are you doing here?" Charlie was stood in the doorway of the van, one hand on at his side, the other resting lightly on the doorframe.

"I heard about it on the scanner. Is Colby alright?" He asked, pulling himself further into the van as he spoke.

"So far" Don said and gestured towards the image of the stranded agent on the screen.

"Why is he in that posture?" Charlie asked as he scrutinised the picture.

"Because that is a classic stress posed used by armies and insurgents alike all over the world." Ian Edgerton had taken up Charlie's previous position in the doorway. Don got to his feet and put his hand out.

"Ian, glad you could come."

"Nikki called me, told me what was happening. I don't know if I'll be much help but I'll see what I can do." Liz grinned at her partner and whispered into her ear

"Hmmm, Edgerton's personal number. Nice going"

"Hey, when you got it, you use it" Nikki replied in a low voice,

"Tell me about the pose he's made Granger adopt." Don asked

"Starts off as not too bad, but as time wears on it becomes more and more uncomfortable – your knees hurt, then your arms become numb, then your back starts to hurt. The stress on the muscles becomes unbearable until eventually it can't be held any longer. Can we communicate with Granger" Don shook his head. We can speak to him as he still has his ear piece in but he can't talk back. The radio is hand operated.

"He's an hour glass." Charlie spun away from the screen to look at his brother and Ian.

"What?" they both chorused.

"The sniper, he chose this position for a reason. There are lots of stress positions out there, some that cause collapse sooner than others, right. He must have worked out the average amount of time someone can hold this. Colby is the clock. As long as he can hold the position then the game so to speak is on, when eventually, he can't bear it anymore then… time's up."

"Is this why he hasn't called?" Don asked. "We've had nothing since the first call. He's waiting? Pushing Colby along a bit? To give us less time when he eventually makes his demands? And how do you know so much about stress positions, no, wait, don't answer that, I don't want to know."

"I don't know. He must have also factored in other variables such as the heat, - that will lessen Colby's tolerance – Colby's physical condition and so on."

"But he didn't know that he had Granger. He asked what his name was."

Ian interjected. "He may not know Granger's name but that doesn't mean that he hasn't been watching the team, picking out his target."

"That doesn't make sense, Colby and David are pretty similar in stature and size. Why pick Colby?"

"We were out there together. Maybe it was just bad luck that Colby was behind me. It could have been either of us." David's face was stricken as he realised how easily it could have been him rather that his friend, silently he cursed the fact that he had been the first to head out of the plaza. Liz saw the expression on his face and tried to console him a little.

"Unlikely. He obviously lured us to this place but there is no way he could control who was standing where when he decided to make his move. I think that Colby just got unlucky. It could have been any one of us."

A ringing noise made everyone stop. On the desk by the camera controls, Don's phone was vibrating itself round and round in circles. He snatched it up and looked at the caller id.

"It's him" he said.

He flipped the phone open and answered curtly "Eppes." The voice on the other end sounded out through the loud speakers inside the van.

"Listen real carefully. The rules are simple. Your man moves I shoot him in the head, he deviates from that position, I shoot him in the head. You try to rescue him, I shoot him in the head. You do what I tell you, you get him back." David's face contorted with rage and he began to pace up and down, balling his fists and then releasing them as he fought to keep his temper in check.

"What do you want?" Eppes asked.

"Aw now, did I tell you that you could ask questions? No I did not. See, that deserves some sort of penalty, dontcha think?" Suddenly the phone went dead. Don span round and looked at the monitor in time to see Colby fly backwards through the air and land on his back. He lay on the floor rolling from side to side in what was clearly agony.

"Son of a …." David yelled and tried to run out of the van. Ian caught him by the arm and held him firmly shaking his head at him.

"He's not dead. Don't change that." He said softly. David stared at him for a moment and then nodded.

Don was reaching frantically for his radio.

"Colby, Colby. Speak to me buddy."

On the monitor they could see Colby reach for his radio. Second later his voice filled the room.

"I'm OK, I'm OK. Nice to be able to lie down." They heard him take a sharp breath in. "What's going on, Don? I don't like being target practice and it is hotter than hell out here."

"The sniper's made no demands yet. Colby you gotta try and hang in there, buy us time. You gotta try and hold the position. I know it's hard but…" Don's voice trailed off as his phone began to jiggle it's way across the table again.

"Yeah." He answered.

"You've had enough time to chat. Tell him to get back on his knees or it's all over." And once again the line went dead.

"Colby, listen buddy, you gotta get back into the position. Sorry." He watched as Colby picked himself painfully off the ground and got back onto his knees.

"North" Ian said simply

"What?" Don asked, diverting his eyes away from the screen.

"The shot came from the north. Can we replay that?" he asked the tech.

"Sure"

"Ok, watch. There, play that last couple of seconds back. See that? The direction that Granger fell shows me that the gun is on the northern side of the plaza."

"That's still a lot of building to search" Liz pointed out.

"I may be able to help there. I can factor in variables such as wind speed, the effect of the building on air flow and direction – things that might affect the bullet's path. Maybe then we can back trace it's flight."

"It's a start. I'm gonna head out. Radio me when you have something." Ian said. Don nodded his assent and Ian left the van. Don turned back to the monitor. "Hang in there" he said softly.


	3. Demands

The temperature in the surveillance van had risen beyond comfortable and the technician had ordered everyone except Don, Charlie - who was working feverishly away on his lap top and Sinclair who had squared up to the smaller, slighter man when he had suggested that he should wait outside. The technician had quickly backed down quickly as the figure of the FBI agent loomed over him menacingly and David had returned to watching his partner on the monitors.

Don paced up and down in the van in frustration, what was the sniper waiting for? Where were the demands? The technician stole a quick glance at the SAC, wondering whether or not to point out that his pacing was only serving to heat up the interior of the van even more, but the look on Agent Eppes' face persuaded him to keep his mouth shut, especially after his last encounter with Agent Sinclair.

Don stopped pacing and turned to David.

"How's he doing?" he asked.

"Hard to tell. You know Granger is like, his leg could be hanging off but he'd tell you he's fine." Don smiled and then stood for a moment with his hands on his hips, his eyes flitting between the monitor and David, trying to assess how the two men on either side of the camera were holding up. Suddenly, Don's cell phone burst into life, beeping and vibrating. Don snatched it up and then looked to the tech for the OK to answer, it came in a curt nod and Don flipped the phone open.

"Yeah."

"Wow, a little testy aren't we?" the voice of the sniper floated out across the van. From the corner of his eye, Don could see Nikki, Liz and some other agents all crowded round the doorway, trying to listen.

"It's hot" was all Don said in response.

"I know, I know, just imagine how your agent feels out there in the baking sun, all alone. No water, no shade. I wonder how he is feeling. Pretty uncomfortable I guess."

"Is there a point to all this?" Don snapped down the phone.

"That, Agent Eppes was a question. Remember what happened the last time you asked a question? I punished your agent for your arrogance. That's you really, isn't it? Arrogant and too confident." There was a long pause on the phone. Don froze and waited for the shot. Liz hastily scribbled down a short note on a piece of paper and passed it to him; _he knows you?_ Don read the note and then shrugged, still holding his breath and waiting.

"I'm in a generous mood today" the voice said. "I won't punish him, this time, but Eppes, don't do that again. OK?"

"OK" Don replied. He breathed out nosily through his nose He looked across at the technician who was trying to triangulate the call. He shook his head at the senior agent and waved his hand in a circle, indicating that Eppes should try to keep the sniper on the phone for as long as possible, but before Don could say anything the line went dead.

Don turned to the technician

"Nothing at all?"

"No, this guy is good, like really good. We'll get it eventually but we need more time."

Charlie spoke up, "The sniper is making sure that you can't keep him on the phone for too long. He won't let you ask questions. That means you also can't control the conversation. He only stays on the phone for a set amount of time, so he must know how long it takes to trace a call. I do have some good news. My programme has pinpointed three possible buildings that he might be in." He took a breath and then carried on, "It's now working on calculating the height that he must be at to have fired the shots that hit the floor and Colby."

"How long?"

"Half an hour, maybe less. I need to rewrite some of the code to get a more accurate angle. If it is off be even a degree we could end up as much as ten to fifteen floors out."

"OK, keep working on it, let Edgerton and the other search teasm know what we have so far." Don instructed, "and hey, good work"

"Don you need to take a look at this." David called out urgently to his boss. Don crossed the van and looked at the monitors where David was pointing. Colby was shaking, ever so slightly but both men could see it.

"Oh god, he's gonna go." Don said. He grasped his radio and pressed the talk button.

"Colby, how you doing buddy?" There was no answer, just static hissing out and into the van. Don and David could only watch in horror as Colby sagged down slightly to one side to end up sitting on his heels, his hands still on his head. David grabbed his own radio to speak to his partner.

"Granger, you gotta get up. Kneel up man, c'mon. Don't you give up. Don't give the guy the satisfaction, C'mon, you are stronger than this!" He almost roared down the radio mike. On the screen Colby grimaced and pitched forward slightly, trying to get the balance he needed to get up onto his knees again. Don's cell phone rang and Don snatched it up.

"I warned you. He needed to stay in position." The phone went dead. Don grabbed his mike and yelled into it "Granger, get up! Get up!" on the monitor Colby was struggling to get to his knees, the combination of the heat and the position sapping his energy. His arms held above his head began to sink.

"Colby, get up, that's an order!" Don barked, he was just about to speak again when a single shot sounded out across the plaza and Colby was flung backwards once more as if an invisible force had pushed him hard in his chest.

"Oh God, NOBODY MOVE!" Don commanded at the top of his voice, afraid that half the FBI would dash out into the plaza and right into the sights of the sniper in a bid to save their friend. He stared at the monitor, but could see no sign of movement from the stricken agent. Granger was lying with his back and legs to the camera, his head obscured by his body. The van was eerily quiet as they waited to see what would happen next.

Then the phone rang.

"I told you, I was also feeling generous today." sneered the sniper and then he cut the line dead. Don whipped round to look at the screen and to his immense relief saw Granger roll onto his back, his head and face coming into view. There appeared to be no obvious injuries to his head; it seemed that once again his jacket had taken the hit.

"Colby can you hear me?" Don asked. There was silence on the end of the radio, and then they saw him reach for his own radio, agony seared across his face. The static of the radio was broken by a moment's silence and then Granger's voice. He was panting.

"'m K" he reported, but it was clear from his tone that he was in lot of pain.

"Are you hurt?"

"No." Colby's answers were short and to the point, his normal sense of humour was gone. It was clear to everyone that knew him well enough that although he wouldn't admit it, not wanting to risk his fellow agent's lives, he was in trouble.

"We're gonna get you out of there, you hear?" Don tried to reassure him.

"Sure", another one word answer. David squeezed the edge of the table so hard that small piece came off in his hand. Liz put her hand on Don's arm as a signal to turn the mike off.

"Don, that jacket isn't going to take many more hits." She said quietly, glancing at David as she spoke.

"I know. We need to start planning an extraction, we have no other choice. We go in five minutes Get tactical in here" he said. Liz disappeared out of the door.

The phone beeped.

"Wanna know what I want?" asked the voice.

"yes, absolutely" Don said as he ran his hand through his hair. He then put it on Sinclair's shoulder whilst he waited for the sniper to list his demands. He could feel the big man shaking. He gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"It's really very, very, simple. I don't want money, planes, helicopters or an escape route out of the city. No political or criminal prisoners released and no end to conflict, hunger or corporate greed. I don't want anything that you haven't already got there, so I'll give you ten minutes to get it to the agent in the plaza. Ask me what it is I want. I'll let you ask that." Don pursed his lips, it was clear that the sniper was playing power games and for now Don would have to play along.

"What do you want?" Don asked. The voice waited for a moment before it spoke and when it did there it sounded like it was gloating.

" I want Professor Charles Eppes to take his place. Send out your brother, Don and I'll give you the agent in exchange." Don's stomach lurched as the rest of the agents crammed into the van looked on in stunned silence.

"I want you to make a choice about who dies today Agent Eppes. Your agent or your brother." And then the line went dead.


	4. force your heart to serve your turn

**A/N: This is the last chapter. Told you the story would be short! The title of this chapter** **is taken from the Kipling poem If...** **Thanks for all the reviews and I am sorry that I haven't had time to reply but with 2 stories on the go, it's been a bit hectic!**

Don stood in the van, staring at the hand set of his phone, unable to speak for a moment as the enormity of what the sniper asked him to do hit him. He couldn't hear anything except the pounding of blood in his ears, the words kept repeating themselves in his head over and over; _who dies today? Your agent or your brother?_ Nausea swept over him and for a brief moment the room swam out of focus. Then, as the shock subsided, it was replaced with anger. He pulled himself together and looked at the stunned faces of the people in the van, his gaze brushing past each one of them until it found the face he was searching for. Charlie was still sat at his lap top, his pale face framed by his curls. The two brothers looked at each other for a moment and then Don turned to face the rest of the team. It was Liz that spoke up first.

"The guy has to be crazy" she said to the room in general. Don ran his hand through his hair.

"How much time do we have?" he asked.

"Nine minutes and thirteen seconds" the technician replied, then seeing the look on Don's face added rather sheepishly "I set a stop watch when the guy said we had ten minutes" and he pointed to a small digital read out above one of the monitors that was counting down. Don nodded in approval.

"Good thinking" he said. "OK, we have nine minutes to come up with a plan and execute it." He didn't even mention the bargain that the sniper wanted to make and Charlie was quick to point this out.

"Don, if I don't go out there, he's going to kill Colby." He gestured towards the image of Colby on the screen. The FBI agent was still lying on his back, recovering from the last bullet his jacket had taken.

"Listen buddy, no-one is going anywhere." Don replied lightly, trying to brush off the idea that Charlie would replace Colby out in the plaza. "We can work this out."

"Work this out? There are only eight minutes left!" Charlie protested, pointing at the clock.

"And we're wasting them arguing. There is no way that you are going out there Charlie, no way." Don switched his attention to David, effectively signalling the end of the debate with his brother. Sinclair had been watching the exchange with interest. He felt that he was close to both Charlie and Colby; hell, he had Charlie had been through so much together, but after what had happened to Colby at the hands of Lancer, he had sworn never to let his partner down again. He trusted his boss, which went without saying, but deep down he was afraid that Don's unquestioning loyalty and love for his brother would leave mean that Colby would not be leaving the plaza alive today.

At that moment the head of the tactical unit popped his head round the doorway of the van. It was Tim King, the head of the ERT and a familiar face to the team; one that both Don and David trusted. Sinclair felt a rush of hope at the sight of the ERT Perhaps now, there would be some action that would get his partner out of there.

"I heard about this over the wire and requested it" King said, stepping into the van. "What's the situation?" Don filled him in as fast as he could, painfully aware that every second counted. King said nothing, absorbing the information as fast as he could, nodding to show that he understood what he was being told. He waited until Eppes had finished and then put a large roll of paper on the table and flattened it out. It was a plan of the plaza.

"We picked this up on the way through. From what I understand, Granger is here" He pointed at an open space on the diagram. "We could attempt an insertion from this side. It will provide enough cover for a small team with shields until we reach this point. After that we will be out in the open. I doubt we can move fast enough to get to Granger before the sniper spots us and finishes it."

"So, what you saying is, that there is no way to get Granger out of there." David snapped as he watched what seemed like the only chance to get Colby out evaporate.

"I'm saying that this guy picked his spot very, very carefully. It's almost perfect. He knew that there would be no way we could get shielded people in and out before he could fire."

"So, so what, we can't get Colby out?" Charlie asked, his face pale. Don scowled at him briefly.

"Charlie, we know what we're doing, OK buddy?"

"Five minutes left" Nikki noted. Don looked at the faces of the people around him. He knew that they were looking to him to save their friend. His mind raced as he tried to think of a new angle. Something they hadn't tried yet. The phone beeped. Don snatched it up and opened it, maybe the sniper was about to offer a last minute lifeline.

"Eppes"

"Agent Eppes, tell your boy out there to get to his feet." Don nodded at David who frowned and then turned to speak into his microphone. The caller continued.

"We're nearly at the end now Eppes. My name is Peter Issacs. Do you remember me? Probably not." The voice was no longer gloating, it was sharp and angry. " Eight years ago, you led a raid on and you shot my baby brother dead. Simon Issacs. That was his name. He was twenty one. Just a baby really. I went to prison for seven years and for seven years you were the only thing on my mind. You and revenge. I want you to understand why I am doing this today. You took the only decent thing that was in my life from me. I want you to know how that feels." Nikki span round and started to type frantically into one of the computers, searching the FBI database for information on the names.

"That works on the assumption that I'll send Charlie out there." Don replied, trying to stay calm.

"What? And sacrifice an FBI agent, one of your own people?"

"No one will die today." Nikki had flipped the computer screen round so that Don could read the information that she had found. "I do remember you and your brother. The Issac Brothers. The bank in Burbank, right? As I recall, your brother had already shot dead a security guard and was threatening to kill a young woman. I also remember that he shot first and that you fled the scene and left him to die. You want someone, take me. I'm the one that you want to punish."

"And be punished you will, as you live with the consequences of the decision that you make today." The phone line went dead again. Don slammed the small grey rectangle on the shelf and then hung his head, his mind racing, desperate to find a way through the mess.

"Edgerton just called, he's set himself up on the third floor of one of the buildings across from where we think the sniper might be" Nikki said as she hung up her own phone. "He's gonna try and spot the guy through his rifle. He's hoping for a flash of sunlight on his scope or something."

"OK, Ok, that's something." Don replied trying to inject some enthusiasm into his voice. "Listen, we're running out of time. I'm gonna go out there. If I offer myself he may leave Colby alone." The van erupted as various people voiced their protests. Don ignored them as he started to prepare to walk into the plaza.

"Hey, where's Charlie?" Don asked, looking round the van, unable to locate the familiar curly head. He popped his head out of the door and scanned the immediate area but there was still no sign. "Charlie?" he called. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked round.

"Hey! Has anyone seen Charlie?" there were lots of shrugs. Don's heart started to pound and he had a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Suddenly, his phone rang, he span round and grabbed it off the shelf. He flipped it open and almost spat "What" into the mouth piece.

"Don, it's me" It was Charlie.

"Charlie where are you?" he went back to the door and looked around at the FBI people who were milling around but there was still no sign of his brother.

"Don, we're out of time. As talented an agent as you are, even you can't do anything in less than two minutes and I can't leave Colby out there." Don lifted his head and squinted against the sun. Just on the edge of the plaza he could make out the familiar shape of his brother. He stepped out of the van into the bright Californian sunshine, speaking rapidly into his phone as he walked.

"Charlie, come back!"

"I'm sorry Don, but what type of person would I be if I let Colby die out there today just to save my own neck? I know you well enough to know that you would rather put yourself out there than anyone else and I can't live with that on my conscience. Look, this way, none of this is your fault. You need to remember that, you need remember that you tried to stop me, but it was me that made the choice. I've made the choice. Tell Dad and Amita that I love them and I'm sorry but I had to do this. I love you, Donny." The phone went dead. Don looked at it for a second and then threw it on the floor. Running towards the plaza he yelled at the top of his voice.

"Charlie, CHARLIE! Don't you do this! Charlie, NO!" his voice bounced off the buildings as he raced towards his brother. Suddenly there were hands holding him back, stopping him from getting any closer to the plaza. Sinclair was talking to him, his voice getting louder and louder as he tried to get through to his boss.

"Don, Don, you go out there, he'll shoot you too!"

Don seemed deaf to the pleas of his friends, he was close enough now to see Charlie, his little brother turned and smiled at him, raising a hand slightly in a half wave, and then carried on walking into the plaza, his hands held above his head in the universal sign of surrender. Don thrashed and lashed out at the hands that held him.

"Charlie, NO, god, NO! Let me go, CHARLIE!"

Charlie closed his eyes and tried to block out the sound of his brother's impassioned cries. He was so surprised that he felt so calm. He would have thought that he would have been more frightened than this but in fact he felt a strange serenity wash over him. He could see Colby. The FBI agent was still on his feet as ordered by the gun man, although he was swaying a little as the sun beat down on him. As Charlie came into his sight, Granger turned his head. Charlie could see that Colby was at the limits of his endurance. He had been out in the direct sun for hours with no shelter or water, in a heavy Kevlar jacket and had been forced to adopt stress positions for most of the time. Charlie got some comfort from the thought that it was Colby's life that he was saving – so long as the sniper kept his word. Of all the team, apart from Don, he felt closest to Colby and had sought his advice and counsel on more than one occasion. He had always admired Colby's selflessness.

"Hey Whiz Kid, what you doing out here? As tanning salons go, this one leaves a lot to be desired." Colby joked weakly. Then he frowned. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, you know" Charlie said evasively.

Colby stood for a moment thinking. Then he frowned and straightened up.

"This better not be what I think it is. Charlie, I don't have the energy for this. Go back. For God's sake go back"

"Why?" Charlie asked simply.

"Why? 'cos I'm telling you to, cos I was here first, cos I'm only one stupid FBI agent, easily replaced, whereas you are unique and a damn sight more important than me! This is no time to be a hero, man." Colby staggered a little and then regained his balance. He bent down and put his hands on his knees to steady himself

"That's not true." Charlie replied quietly to the top of his friend's head. "There will be others, other people. There are always other people." He cocked his head to one side " I've always admired that about you and Don and David, the fact that you will always stand up for what is right, always do the right thing no matter what." He paused and looked away. " I couldn't live with myself knowing that you – my, my friend - had died to save me." He closed his eyes again briefly, letting his consciousness focus on the sounds in the plaza rather than what was about to happen. He could hear a number of different sounds, Granger was still protesting about Charlie's presence in the plaza, birds in the plaza trees and far off in the distance he could hear Don yelling. His phone rang, thankfully drowning out the sounds of his brother's anguished cries. He didn't even open his eyes as he flipped the phone open. Lifting it to his ear, he heard a voice.

"Your death today is the fault of your brother. I wanted you to know that. It's his fault." And with that the line went dead.

Charlie let his arm drift back down to his side, his eyes still closed. He smiled. _I don't blame you, Donny,. _he thought, then he heard a shot ring out across the plaza. He felt something hard hit him, although to his surprise there was no pain, and he crashed to the floor.

The sound echoed across the plaza and out onto the street where the FBI were stationed. Don went limp as he heard the shot, the arms that had held him back, now cradling him as he slid to the ground. For a brief moment the world went white and then it swam back into focus. He started to scramble to his feet, one name repeating itself in his head over and over again "Charlie".

Don shook his head a little and then he began running. He felt like he was running through syrup, he just couldn't get his feet to move fast enough. In his earpiece he heard Edgerton saying something but he couldn't focus on the words. As he came into the square, he could see two shapes sprawled on the ground. He sped up and as he reached the inert figures he slid onto the ground as if he were stealing a base, ignoring the pain as the concrete ground rubbed away the flesh on an exposed ankle and elbow. Colby was lying onto top of his baby brother. David and the others, who had been only seconds behind their boss grabbed Granger and rolled him onto his back. Don looked at Charlie his face so still and calm. Don grabbed his brother and pulled him so that his head was cradled on Don's lap. Don's eyes searched frantically up and down Charlie's body but he couldn't see any sign of gunshot trauma on his head or otherwise. All of a sudden, Charlie gasped and his eyes flew open. His arms began to flail around until he realised that Don was holding him and then they gripped his brother's arms. He sucked in lungfuls of air, replacing the air that had been knocked out of him when he hit the floor.

"Charlie, Charlie! Are you OK?" Don ran his hands up and down Charlie's chest and back, checking for blood. Charlie nodded.

"Just a little winded. What happened? Oh my God, is Colby OK? He didn't shoot me, he must have shot Colby. Oh God!" Charlie struggled in Don's arms trying to see his friend. Don hugged his brother tighter and looked across at his colleagues, steeling himself for the sight of Colby's corpse.

The others were tearing at Colby's vest, pulling the heavy black material off him. Don tried to shield Charlie from it; he knew that they were pulling the vest off to start CPR. _God Colby, I'm so sorry. _ He tried to hug Charlie closer but the younger man pushed him off and scrambled to his hands and knees, crawling across to Colby to get a better look at his stricken friend. Don raced after him; it seemed that the nightmare was never ending. Charlie had survived but one of his agents, someone he was responsible for and someone he counted as a friend was dying only a few feet away.

"We need water!" David and Liz shouted together. Don knelt to side of his friend and co worker. Colby was lying on the floor, agony etched onto his face. Don couldn't see where the bullet wound was, then he realised - there wasn't one. As the others started to pour water over Granger's head and chest to try to cool him down, Don finally focussed on what the voice in his ear was saying.

"Sniper is down, repeat sniper is down." It was Edgerton's voice on the radio. Don pressed the talk button on his own radio.

"Copy that" he said.

"At last! Oh, the area is clear by the way. Not that it is important now. I'm on my way down. Edgerton out." Don let go of his radio and rubbed his face with both hands. A medic rushed past him and knelt at Colby's side, diagnosing hyperthermia pretty quickly. Cool packs were placed under Colby and in his armpits, neck and on his body and a drip was set up to help him re-hydrate.

"How is he?" Don asked as the medic handed the IV bag to Sinclair to hold.

"He's OK, dehydrated and suffering from heat exhaustion but once we have him colled down he'll be fine. We'll transfer him to UCLA and they can take a proper look at him there but as far as I can see he's gonna be OK."

"Hear that buddy? You're gonna be just fine." David asked. Colby nodded and lay his head back on the pillow the medic had placed on the ground for him.

"How's Charlie?" he asked. Don sat down on the floor next to him.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" He said and gestured towards an anxious Charlie who was being given a once over by another paramedic. As soon as he was given the all clear, Charlie rushed over to be with Colby and Don.

"Colby, you, you saved me." Charlie stuttered. "You threw yourself in front of me. The bullet would have gone through you, not me."

"Charlie," Colby rasped. "I told you that there was no way that I was gonna let you take the hit for me."

"Ah listen to you two." Ian Edgerton walked over to them, a grin on his face, his case carrying his rifle slung over his shoulder. "The only person who was in any real danger was the sniper and he got what he deserved."

"What happened?" David asked, still holding the IV bag.

"I settled down in a window that gave me a good all over view of the buildings on this side of the plaza. I knew that as the sun was changing position, it would cast more light onto the buildings. I was hoping for a reflection from his scope or something and whaddya know, I got lucky. Nice bright flash of light as he lined you up in his sights gave me just what I needed." Ian explained trying to be casual about the amazing feat of marksmanship he had just pulled off.

"Is he dead?" Charlie asked

"Most people don't survive a bullet to the head."

Don stood up and shook Edgerton's hand.

"I don't know what to say, I can't thank you enough" Ian said nothing for a moment, he knew that Don was not usually one for outwards bursts of emotion so he allowed the man his moment before replying.

"Hey, any excuse to get some practice in" he joked, trying to lighten the mood. Don nodded and then turned back to Charlie. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Colby being helped onto a stretcher.

"What do you think you were doing? I told you not to go. I told you that we would get this sorted. He called you, I saw you answer the phone. What did he say?" Don demanded. Charlie shrugged. "He just said goodbye" he replied. Don narrowed his eyes, he was usually a good judge of when someone was lying and he knew that his brother was lying to him now, however, the look on his face persuaded him not to push the issue. He changed back to his originally tack.

"How could you disobey my orders like that?" Don asked. Charlie looked Don straight in the eye as he spoke.

"What type of person would I be if I had let Colby die today? How would I live with that? How could you expect me to live like that?" Charlie paused and looked at the floor. "All my life Don, I've watched you do the right thing, no matter what it cost you. Do you think that that is something that doesn't rub off of someone? Something that I wouldn't aspire to be? You always keep your head, even when everyone else around you is lost and scared. I saw that today, the decisions that you were being asked to make were unfair and I didn't think it was right that you should have to live with the consequences- that I or Colby had died today because of a choice that you made. So I decided to make the choice. I did the dirty work." Don looked at his little brother for a moment and then wordlessly wrapped his arms round him and hugged him. The two men stood like that for a moment, not saying anything; then at last Don pulled away.

"You do know that if you had gotten your ass shot off today, Dad would have killed me"

"Yeah, I kinda guessed. He can be so grumpy about that sort of thing." Charlie joked back. "You know, Colby is surprisingly heavy when he is lying on top of you."

Don laughed; the brothers wrapped an arm round the other's shoulders and followed Colby out of the plaza and into the FBI cars that were waiting round the corner.


End file.
